Beyond the Walls of Death
by Neleh Yentraccam
Summary: He was the reincarnation of the man who created the Dark Lord, however indirectly. They didn't see it until it was too late. Oops. Dark!Harry HP/LV TMR Disclaimer and warnings on my profile.
1. Chapter 1

**1930 October 31**

Tom Marvolo Riddle was not an ordinary boy, even at three years old. All of the children and adults at the London Orphanage knew this; they saw proof on a regular basis. At just three even a war-hardened adult could only spend so much time with him before bolting in terror. Because of his abnormality he had no friends but that didn't matter since he never seemed to want any in the first place.

So absolutely nobody expected his reaction when a one boy was found on the doorstep of the orphanage with only a blanket.

The matron was sad to see the child abandoned like that, he looked so innocent wrapped up sleeping, a little angel. The only thing they had to identify him with was a name stitched into the cloth but even that only told them his first name was Harrison due to the rest falling apart.

Tom was the first child to see the baby who was a mere two years younger than him and just like the matron his heart melted at first sight. Harrison was the only person who had ever managed or would ever manage to get Tom Riddle to care even the slightest bit about another.

After seeing young Tom's reaction to the baby the matron decided that Harrison would be a good influence on him and gave the baby the surname Thomson to create an even stronger bond between the two, not that it was needed of course, Tom was obsessed with the little boy. Previously Tom would fuss if he were forced to be around others for a prolonged period of time but in regards to Harrison he practically refused to be separated for more than a minute.

That was the beginning of Harrison Thomson's life at the orphanage but there was still far, far more to come. After all having Tom as an older brother would turn out to be very interesting, especially with the amount of possessiveness he felt for the younger boy.


	2. Chapter 2

**1932 May 20**

"Tom!" Squealed a tiny boy as he tried to escape from the larger, older boys bearing down upon with manic smiles that promised pain for the recipient. "Tom! Help!"

One of the boys laughed. "You think Tommy's gonna come save you, do ya?" He asked in a gruff voice. "'Cause we made sure he was busy before coming here, didn't we Bert?" The other just nodded his smile growing as the fear on the younger boy's face grew.

Harrison Thomson didn't know it yet but the matron had taken his protector, Tom Riddle, to a private room to have the priests exorcise him. She believed he was possessed by the devil because he refused to interact socially with anyone other than Harrison. Of course, at the same time she didn't blame Harrison one bit because it was entirely the devil child's fault that he was unsocial, if it weren't for the devil child's influence on the boy he would be a perfect little angel.

Now however, while the matron was otherwise occupied and Tom was unable to come to his aid, Harrison was starting to feel true anger for the first time ever. Prior to this Tom was always there to look after him and as far as he understood it was actually partly Tom's fault in the first place, if only he wouldn't be so unkind the other children might accept as a friend instead of enemy. But now there was no tom to blame for their hatred and he was sure he had never done anything that these boys could perceive as wrong, except being friends with Tom and that could be blamed on the matron for leaving them together for so much of his time a the orphanage. No, these boys weren't getting revenge or doing this for any logical reason what so ever; they just wanted to cause him in pain while they thought they could, the filthy bastards.


	3. Chapter 3

**1934 June 5**

Harrison Thomson was worried. He couldn't find Tom and the last that had happened it was because the priests were trying to exorcise him. That had been a horrible experience for Tom and Harrison had promised himself that he would stop it from ever happening again. Yet, the same as the last time he could not find his friend. The other children in the orphanage didn't care, they thought it was wonderful that the 'devil boy' was going through such an experience; they loved the idea that he was in pain.

As Harrison was running down one of the many hallways in the orphanage he heard a noise coming out from under one of the doors, a soft sound somewhere between a cry of pain and a whimper. This shocked him immensely, had he found it? He listened closer and heard the sound again it was definitely Tom. Harrison tried the door but it was locked. Growing anxious he pounded on the door shouting Tom's name. The whimpering stopped and the door opened to reveal a fat priest who looked down on Harrison before dragging him inside and relocking the door.

Harrison struggled against the priest trying in vain to get to Tom who he could see strapped down in the middle of some ritual circle. It looked strange and he assumed that it did not work but it made him think that maybe if he could make a better one he could use it to help control the 'devil' inside Tom (and the one he thought might be hiding in himself).

The priest dragged him over to one of the walls and shackled him there while Tom watched in horror from his place in the circle. He was forced to watch as the burly man continued the ritual making his best friend scream louder and louder. For each scream the man extracted out of the boy Harrison's anger grew until many hours into the night his shackles burst. The whole ritual was alight with flames stemming from the five year old. The more Harrison thought about people hurting his Tom and trying to hurt him and being downright horrid people the hotter the flames grew. Eventually there was nothing left to burn and the priest managed to escape out the door. He ran as fast as his legs would carry him, crashing straight into the matron who was on her way up to see if the exorcism had worked or not.

The priest told he of how the shackles broke and the room burned, hearing this she went to see what had happened for herself. Once in the room she found Harrison crying his eyes out into Tom's chest. With her blind love of the younger boy she misinterpreted the situation and blamed Tom for trying to taint the perfect little boy with his 'devil powers'.

Tom was whipped that night as his punishment for letting Harrison see his 'devil powers' in use. The only ones that knew it was truly Harrison powers were Tom, Harrison and the priest who refused to come back to the orphanage ever again claiming that it was cursed, thus stopping any other priests from taking his place.

The next night just after the lights went out Harrison snuck out of his bed and across the room to Tom's. "Tom," he asked, "why didn't you tell them it was me that lit the fire?"

Opening his eyes Tom stared down at the smaller boy in his bed and smiled as he answered. "Because I don't want you to get hurt, they already blame me anyway and if I tried to blame you they would only punish me more." He chuckled continuing; "You do realize they see you as a perfect little angel that could do absolutely nothing wrong and even if they saw you setting fire to the building with their own eyes they would still blame me for being the one to influence you, right?"

"Alright," replied Harrison, "I understand but I'm still gonna be there you for no matter what. You deserve one person to be there for you." Yawning he curled into the chest of the larger boy whose bed he was sharing and feel asleep.

Watching him sleep Tom pondered what their powers meant. He refused to believe the matron and priests who thought it meant he was possessed. Ever since he was young he had known that he was special but finding out that his Harrison had the same type of power brought an inexplicable joy to his heart. For though he did not quite understand it yet he had fallen in love with the boy the day he set eyes upon all those Halloweens ago, it was almost as if they were meant to be. Sadly, he did not have any close connections with any of the other children so thought this was normal for a childhood friendship and because he did believe in love he would never consider it an option.


	4. Chapter 4

**1938 July 31**

All the children noticed the visitor to the orphanage; he wore the strangest clothing and had the longest, whitest beard any of them had ever seen. He walked with an air that not many in this part of London had, the air of self-importance and purpose. Seeing all this the children quickly became excited, perhaps he was here to adopt and one of them would have a good home or perhaps he came to upgrade the orphanage so they could all have better childhoods.

The only two children that saw but didn't care were two boys who just sat up in their room working on whatever project had taken their fancy this time. Many of the other girls and boys came to tell the younger one who they had come to care for over the years, obviously they didn't care a bit for the other as they avoided him at all costs. Little Harrison however, just smiled at them and nodded before going back to his project.

After a good while talking with the matron in a private room the man with the white beard came out and the matron led him along the passageway where the children were looking out their doors to see this strange man and straight to the room housing Tom Riddle and Harrison Thomson.

"Harrison," she started, "Mr. Dumbedork is here to speak with Mr. Riddle about a school that he might go to, you should probably come and play with the other while they talk." Looking startled by this suggestion Harrison just shook his head franticly, "Tom's just gonna tell me what happens later, it won't matter if I stay, will it Tom?" he asked with his voice filled with hope.

Tom staring at the old man suspiciously replied, "No, not at all. In fact Miss I would prefer it if Harrison could stay I'm a little nervous." Turning his head towards the matron and putting on a slightly worried façade, looking as if she was going to push the matter again Mr. Dumbedork told her it was fine. The matron looked slightly confused before wandering back out into the hall and resuming her normal duties.

The three occupants remaining sat there in silence for a while, none willing to make the first move. "Well, I should probably start by introducing myself." Began Mr. Dumbedork, looking at Tom and ignoring Harrison as if he wasn't even there. "I am Professor Dumbledore and I have come to offer you a place in the school I work at, Hogwarts." Harrison aware that he was being ignored moved round behind the professor into a position where there was no chance he could be seen in any reflections and signed to Tom, 'Be respectful, don't let him know why they want to get rid of you. Make him think you're a nice, polite boy!'

Understanding the point Harrison was trying to get across Tom refrained from outright accusing Prof. Dumbledore and simply, innocently asked why he was getting an invitation to the school as he had never submitted an application to such a school. Smiling kindly at him the professor replied, "You do not need to submit any kind of application to go to Hogwarts. It is a school for special children and your name has been on the register since the day you were born my dear boy."

Upon hearing this Tom almost lost his control barely managing to keep his temper in by focusing on Harrison signing him messages to calm down because they did not yet know what kind of special the man meant. For all they knew it was a school for super intelligent children.

Silence surrounded them as Tom fought to control his urges to accuse the man of thinking him some kind of demon and seeing how much trouble he was having Harrison came back round drawing the attention of the professor to ask "What kind of special children do you mean, sir? And how can Tom's name been registered since birth, the matron seemed shocked that you had actually come so I doubt it was her that registered him and he was born here at the orphanage so there isn't anyone else to register him is there?"

Shocked at the questions the small boy was asking he just gaped for a few seconds before composing himself again. "I am very sorry my boy but I cannot tell you that. Only those who are given invitations are allowed to know such sensitive information. If you leave then I will be able to tell the answers to your questions to Tom here but he will not be allowed to tell you."

"Sir, if you are saying that I would have to leave Harrison behind and keep secrets from him when I do see him then I do not think I want to come to this school anyway and you might as well leave right now." Tom did not like keeping secrets from his Harrison and he would never stand to be separated from him for longer than a day. Harrison understood this perfectly well and slightly out character for him smirked at the gob smacked man in front of him.

Realizing that these two would never let up and even if he managed to tell the Riddle boy about the school the other would find out minutes after he left the building. "All right, but if I must tell you then you must first tell me your full name." He conceded, if he couldn't keep the boy from knowing then he would at least find out as much about the little muggle boy as possible.

Turning to the older boy, he grinned before turning back to the old codger as he had privately named him to tell him straight out, "My full name is Harrison Thomson." It was almost as if he had been waiting to tell the professor his last name the whole time and with the connection between his last name and the other boy's first he could completely understand why. He had wanted to make it perfectly clear how close they were.


	5. Chapter 5

**1938 August 3**

Prof. Dumbledore had eventually explained everything. It turned out he was a wizard and Hogwarts taught young withes and wizards how to use their magic. The term would start on the first of September and Tom have to catch a train from Kings Cross Station which meant the boys only had another month together before they were separated. The old codger had also given Tom a list of supplies he would need to get before then and offered to take him but his offer was refused. Tom wanted to do it himself, with Harrison of course, so the professor had explained that to get into Diagon Alley one needed to first go through the Leaky Cauldron, which could be found beside Reginald's Clothing Store.

Just before he left he gave Tom a small pouch of money to buy his belongings, courtesy of the school. On his way out, just two steps beyond the main door, Harrison came sprinting down to him with a letter. The letter in question was addressed to _Headmaster Armando Dippet of Hogwarts._ The small boy asked him to please pass the letter on at the earliest convenient time. Fully intending on reading the letter himself and not passing it on at all (after all what importance could a letter from a little muggle orphan have to the Headmaster of Hogwarts), he took the letter.

He would later find out that the young Mr. Thomson had done some extraordinary magic on the letter by accident and he could not open it. Still under the impression it was of no importance and account the magic on it to Mr. Riddle he burned it so it would never have to bother the Headmaster at all.

The young boys however had the time of their life going to Diagon Alley. To them it was all absolutely marvelous and they could not wait to see more. In order to save money for the things they may want that were not required they only bought things second or sometimes even third-hand. Once they had all the required items but Tom's wand they started towards the wand maker's, Ollivander's.

The inside of the small shop was cluttered with wands lining the walls and piles just lying around on the floor. Mr. Ollivander, the owner was nowhere to be seen so the two started to search through the wands, they looked at each and every wand waiting for the right one even if they didn't know how to tell which one that was. Hours later after they had seen every wand in the room Mr. Ollivander finally appeared.

"Hello young ones, you are here for wands I know but for both of you or only the elder you must tell me?" The man was pale and looked to have seen many centuries with his wide his that saw straight through you. "We are primarily here for my wand sir, but if we have enough money left over then we will also be buying one for Harrison." Stated Tom in his most self-assured voice, his words leaving no room for doubt.

Noting that they had already been through every wand in the room Mr. Ollivander led them into the back room where he constructed the wands. "Because none of the premade wands have chosen either of you, you can choose whether you have me make you custom wands or go elsewhere for your wands."

Astounded by the idea of having their wands custom made they eagerly accepted the offer. To most people the process of making wands is a complex one but the process of selecting the materials for said wand is quite simple. All that needed is a little concentration on the aspects of ones personality, once you can do that the wand maker can do the rest. For two young boys who only just discovered the wizarding world it would be expected that they did not have the patience or control to do this, however Tom Riddle and Harrison Thomson were not at all normal and prided themselves on exceeding the expectations of those around and managed to achieve the necessary state of mind faster than most adults making the process go much faster than the wand maker had predicted.

Once Mr. Ollivander had finished creating the wands he presented them to their new owners. Tom was given a wand thirteen and a half inches long, made of yew and with a core of basilisk venom. Harrison also got a wand made of yew but his was only eleven and a half inches and had phoenix tears for the core. It was then explained to the young wizards how their respective cores represented life and death, venom which destroyed almost everything and tears which could heal almost everything. The wand maker also explained how yew stood for … and the lengths of their wands mattered most in regards to each other. For others the length was only to best accommodate the core and the size of the wizard once adult but for them it showed the way their own personalities combined with Tom protecting Harrison at all costs.

Getting Harrison his wand early didn't serve a purpose, they just wanted confirmation that he would be going to Hogwarts with Tom when his time came and if a wand chose him and worked for him then they couldn't refuse him entry, could they?

That was all the shopping that they needed to do before school started but since they had managed to save so much money they could afford to come back again to buy more books and trinkets once they had finished reading the school books from cover to cover.

Over the next month they spent more time in Diagon Alley and the side alley, Knockturn Alley, than they spent at the orphanage. They read all Tom's required material multiple times and a few over interesting books that they noticed.

As they only had they money that Dumbledore had given Tom for school supplies they were determined to find a way of making more by working in one of the shops in either of the alleys they frequented. Harrison soon found a job cleaning cages and feeding the pets at a pet store in Diagon Alley and Tom found a job shelving books at a shadier bookshop in Knockturn Alley.


	6. Chapter 6

**1938 September 1**

September the first approached quickly for Tom and Harrison as they slowly accustomed themselves to the wizarding world. Each day when Tom awoke he noticed Harrison staring out the window, almost as if he was waiting for something or someone. Seeing as Harrison did not want to get Tom's hopes up unnecessarily he had told him of the letter he gave to the old codger. Tom, not knowing about this worried for his friend scared of what the other children might do once he was at Hogwarts.

When the day finally came for Tom to leave he was more reluctant to go than Harrison was to see him leave. Harrison had to drag Tom to Kings Cross Station and it was a good thing he did because once they arrived Tom realized that Professor Dumbledore had not told them how to reach Platform 9¾. Looking around Tom noticed a few people dressed in the slightly strange clothing the two had come to associate with wizards pretending to be muggles. Following a few of these people with his eyes he saw many of them walk straight into a column between platforms nine and ten then disappearing.

Figuring that it was the entrance he pulled Harrison along and straight through the magical barrier onto the platform where a bright red steam train was waiting for all its young passengers to board. Shocked by Tom's sudden actions Harrison just gaped at the platform they were now standing on. Glancing at a large clock on the wall of the platform his face changed from shock to despair in an instant. Wondering what could make his Harrison so unhappy so fast Tom followed the gaze of the younger boy to the clock and let his own face fall in turn.

There was only an hour to go before the train left for Hogwarts, taking Tom with it and leaving Harrison behind to deal with the other orphans on his own. The atmosphere surrounding the two young orphans became tense and soon Harrison couldn't stand it anymore. Making sure that Tom would be all right and promising that he himself would be fine on his own, he said his goodbyes and returned to the orphanage to cry his eyes out over the unfairness of life that separated the boys now.

Watching his only friend run off and disappear back through the barrier in to the muggle world he felt his heart sink. They had never been apart for a full day let alone a year and he was at a loss of what to do without the boy he held so close to his cold heart.

Lugging his heavy trunk aboard the train Tom caught sight of a blonde boy his age having his trunk levitated into train by what looked to be his father. The blonde's clothes, features and the way that he held himself gave the impression that he was wealthy and refined, a good person to make friends with to get further. Feeling Tom's gaze at the back of his neck the blonde turned to see the dark haired youth in obviously secondhand clothes. Repulsed by him he just sneered back and climbed onto the train without another glance.

Back at the orphanage Harrison wasn't really crying like Tom believed, in fact he was perfectly composed and trying to figure what exact wording to use in his second letter to Headmaster Dippet as he had by now given up on the idea that the coot he asked to deliver the last one had actually done so. Dumbledore had probably just thrown it in the trash the moment he was out of Harrison's sight.


	7. Chapter 7

**1938 September 1 Continued…**

A child's first sight of Hogwarts castle is always memorable. Coming round the bend on boats and seeing the castle looming up ahead. Even the children who had parents that taught them to hide their emotions could not help but gape at the sight. Tom Riddle was no exception to this, however with his experience in the orphanage he was the first to compose himself, beating even the stuck up blond boy.

Arriving at the castle and entering the entrance hall the first years were greeted by Professor Dumbledore who told them to wait for a few minutes until he came to get them. When did come to get them he told them how they would enter the great hall and be sorted into the four houses of Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw and Slytherin.

Upon entering the great hall the first years saw five tables, one for each house and the head table for the staff. At the front of the hall on a stool sat a ragged old hat, which seemed to be the focus of everyone's attention. The second all the first years were close enough to the front it broke into song.

Tom didn't bother paying attention to the words, though he did notice it describe Gryffindors as brave, Hufflepuffs as hard working, Ravenclaws as intelligent and Slytherins as cunning. Thinking over this he decided that he would much prefer to be a Slytherin or possibly Ravenclaw than the other two.

Watching person after person go up, have the sorting hat placed upon their head and the house they were to belong to shouted out to the hall he began to feel bored. Slowly his turn came round and he went up to be sorted. The hat barely touched his head before shouting out "Slytherin!" Glad of his house he went to sit with his peers, which included the snobbish blonde, who all seemed to have a sort of disdain for him that seemed based on absolutely nothing.

He waited until the rest of the students were sorted then listened to the Headmaster's sort speech on what was expected of the students during the year and then had dinner. After everyone had finished their dinner they sang the school song and the prefects led the first years to the dormitories. The Slytherin dorms were in the dungeons and to get in you had to tap the right brick while saying the password, which was currently 'Parseltongue'.

The next day was the first day of classes and Tom studied hard to try to prove to his classmates that he belonged in Slytherin. Each day he would go to the library as soon as his classes finished and study until dinner. Once back in the dorms he would start on his homework and finishing that he would read a book from the library or read ahead in one of his classes.


	8. Chapter 8

**1938 September 8**

Tom had been at Hogwarts for a week and already he was rising to the top of his classes. But even as he studied to get to the top he also studied the way other students in both his house and the others acted in different circumstances. The morning of September eighth he was doing just this when the owls that delivered the post in the mornings fell into the great hall during breakfast. Now, this wouldn't have been something of much interest except for the owl the came in a minute or so after the rest and went straight towards the Headmaster Armando Dippet.

The whole hall went quiet as he took the letter and started to read. Staff rarely received mail during mealtimes and to add to the surprise the Headmaster seemed genuinely shocked to be receiving a letter now. As the Headmaster read the letter his face paled considerably and his eyes widened to the point of which some younger students believed they would actually fall out of his head.

Finishing the letter he put it on the table and took a few calming breathes to help him digest what he had just read. He spoke in quiet tones to the Deputy Headmaster Professor Dumbledore, making the professor go white in shock, then left the remains of his breakfast, choosing to walk past the Slytherin table on his way out instead of going straight through the middle of the four tables.

It was not until he was done eating his own breakfast that Tom realized there was a piece of paper on the ground beside his feet. Picking it up and reading it he noted it was addressed to him and asked for him to come to the Headmaster's office immediately to discuss his summer living arraignments.

Stunned, as he had told no one of where he had lived prior to coming to Hogwarts and did not believe Dumbledore would care remotely enough to tell Headmaster of the orphanage's horrors, he silently followed the directions he had been given to reach a stone gargoyle that cleared away as he uttered the password he had also been given.

Tom entered the office nervously wondering what the Headmaster had found out and what they were going to talk about. Could the matron have sent the letter? Had she found some way to prove that he had been the one to hurt the children that were always so mean to him? Was he going to be expelled? Or would the Headmaster understand why he did it?

Headmaster Dippet, seeing the worry on Tom's face before it was quickly hidden behind the Slytherin mask he managed to develop in such a short time. Smiling sadly at the way the first year had already been affected, he gestured for Tom to sit. Gulping, ever so slightly Tom took the seat in front of the desk and asked in a calm voice that showed next to no emotion, "What about my holiday arraignments did you wish to speak about sir?"

Pulling the letter from his pocket Dippet read aloud,

_Dear Headmaster Dippet_

_My name is Harrison Thomson. I currently reside at the London Orphanage. I sent a letter to you with Professor Dumbledore when he came to tell my roommate, Tom Riddle, about Hogwarts but; as I have not received any form of reply I am inclined to believe he may have forgotten about it._

_Any way, to get on with the point, the other children at the orphanage where I live are not very accepting of accidental magic. Up until now Tom has taken the blame for any of my own accidental magic as well as his but now that he is attending Hogwarts I worry for my safety._

_Tom managed to control his magic enough to scare the other children into leaving him alone but having relied on him for so long I do not think that I will be able to do anything to prevent them from hurting me._

_I understand that I am only nine years old but I am sending this letter to request that I may stay at Hogwarts during the part of the year it is open and return to the orphanage with Tom during the summers. _

_Of course, I will understand if you cannot allow this and if this is the case I only request that you reply so I do not keep my hopes up for too long._

_Yours sincerely, _

_Harrison Thomson_

While he read Dippet watched Tom's reactions to the words and noted how he gnawed his bottom lip when the accidental magic was mentioned and closed his eyes as if in prayer upon hearing Harrison's request to stay at Hogwarts during the school year.


	9. Chapter 9

**1938 September 11**

Armando Dippet was disgusted with the state of the London Orphanage. It was the worst place he had ever seen inhabited by humans. Looking around a bit before meeting the Matron he spies a group of boys crowded around something small. Only slightly curious as to what the thing is he heads to the main office where the Matron is waiting for him politely, all dressed up for this obviously wealthy man.

Having a short talk with the Matron, Armando comes to understand that Tom was considered a horrid child and Harrison was seen as an angel. He could not see why the boys were treated so differently but hoped that Harrison would be able to tell him when they finally met in person.

Finishing their talk Mr. Dippet followed the Matron back out into the hall where the boys where crowded. "Boys," She said. "Mr. Dippet here wants to talk with Harrison, so, could you please leave them alone for awhile."

Wondering which of the boys was Harrison; Armando was surprised to see none of them stay behind. Not quite understanding what was going on He turned back to see what they had been crowded around and was amazed to see a young boy of about nine lying there in pain.

Noting that the Matron had returned to her office he took the boy into the room that he had been told Harrison and Tom shared. After healing his injures the Headmaster sat on one of the beds to wait for him to wake. It took some time and he stayed a little groggy for a few minutes before noticing the stranger in the room.

Waking up fully at the sight of the Headmaster, Harrison could not think what to say to the man.

Guessing the cause of Harrison's silence, Professor Dippet introduced himself. "Hello Harrison. I am Professor Dippet, as a smart boy such as you has probably already figured. I received your letter and came to see whether or not the living conditions were as horrible as you made them sound. I am sad to discover that you may not have emphasized how bad they are nearly enough."

Taking a calming breath he continued, "I find that there is absolutely no possibility that you will stay here any longer or ever return against your own wishes. This will, of course, be the same for Mr. Riddle." The smile that graced Harrison's face in that moment was so warm and happy it could have melted the coldest heart in a second. "Thank you so much sir this means the world to me and I'm sure Tom will be equally grateful when he finds out." Exclaimed the joyful boy.

Chuckling slightly Armando recomposed himself to go on, "Yes, I'm sure he will. But right now the problem is what you will do throughout the year as it will not do to have a nine-year-old boy running wild around the halls of Hogwarts."

Looking a little out of it Harrison quietly suggested that he join classes with the first years. It would keep him out of the way and if he were behind it would not really matter too much since he could just redo the year and still be younger than the rest of his classmates. Professor Dippet seeing the merit in this idea agreed and asked Harrison to gather all his belongings on the bed. Doing so quickly, the bed was only half full when he announced that he was finished.

Sorting through the items, Armando packs those that are new and need not be replaced while burning the things that are old and muggle. Among the pile of objects he finds a muggle dream catcher and mirror that are both decorated with very intricate designs, vaguely resembling runes used in rituals. The Headmaster makes a mental note to ask Harrison where he got these as they seem like incredibly valuable magical artifacts.

Having finished packing he leads the young boy out of the orphanage towards his new life at Hogwarts.


	10. Chapter 10

**1938 September 12**

Harrison and the Headmaster had ended up staying the whole day in Diagon Alley buying replacements for the useless muggle things the Headmaster had burnt. Because of this by the time they had returned to the castle all of the students were in bed and there was no time to contact Tom about the day's events. Even though Harrison spent nearly half an hour begging.

The morning of the next day found the Headmaster surprisingly absent from his seat at the head table which he always occupied from before the first student arrived until after the last student left. His absence was all that anyone in the great hall was talking of until he arrived.

When he did arrive a small boy with dark, red hair accompanied him. The boy had his head bowed low so no one could see his face but Tom did not need to see it anyway, as he would recognize that distinctive hair colour anywhere. The Headmaster _had_ gone to remove his Harrison from the dreadful orphanage and he was here at Hogwarts. Wanting with all of his heart to go to the boy he had grown up with but knowing it would not be proper and would only cause more problems between him and his housemates.

Reaching the front of the hall the Headmaster turned to face the students and the all quieted. "I know that you are all in the middle of breakfast and some of you have classes soon but I have an important announcement to make. This boy here is Harrison Thomson. He is, as of today, a ward of Hogwarts. He is only nine but in order to keep him occupied he will be attending classes with the first years. I expect all of you to make him feel welcome and not ask him about the reasons behind his stay here; if he wishes for you to know then he shall tell you. Now though, he must be sorted to, find out who he will attend classes with."

Conjuring up a stool and summoning the hat that had been used to sort the first years with, he gestured for Harrison to sit and put on the hat. Doing so Harrison was startled to hear the hat speaking to him like it was any other person.

_Well now, _it said. _You are the youngest child I have sorted in a long time. It is sad that this is because of circumstances and not your own intelligence, for you are a very bright boy, as you already know. But the question is where to put you. Definitely not Hufflepuff, though you are both loyal and hard working you do not have their trust, it truly is sad. Ravenclaw would suit you, however I don't believe that it is quite right and they would all become jealous of you quickly. Slytherin is where I put your friend-_

"Slytherin, please put me in Slytherin." Harrison muttered.

_-But you are not nearly as self-preserving as them and they would tear you to shreds the moment you sat at their table. So that leaves Gryffindor. Yes, I think you will do well with them and their propensity to put themselves in danger for the sake of others. Just remember not to go too far with that recklessness and you'll do fine in…_

"Gryffindor!" Hearing his new house shouted out to the world he got off the stool, thanked the Headmaster and went down to the table that sat the students with Gryffindor badges on their chests.

The rest of the day Harrison was in and out of classes and catch-up sessions with no time to talk to Tom. At lunch and dinner he was immersed in introductions to his new house and any friends they had in either Ravenclaw or Hufflepuff. As hard as Harrison tried he could not find any way to tell Tom what had happened and catch up on what had happened to him in the last fortnight.


	11. Chapter 11

**1938 November 15**

Days turned into weeks as Harrison's new friends prevented him from going to see Tom. For Tom though it was not nearly as bad because he agreed with his house when they told him to stay away from the young Gryffindor. His only problem with the set-up was when the Gryffindors and Slytherin had potions together and Harrison stared at him with the same kind of desperation he had only ever seen on his face when Harrison traumatized the priest who tried to exorcise Tom.

Harrison's birthday came and went without a word from the boy he had grown to trust.

Headmaster Dippet called on him to ask about the mirror and muggle dream catcher. It was an interesting session.

_Knocking on the door to the office Harrison heard a muffled 'open' coming through the door. Entering he saw that nothing much had changed since he arrived at Hogwarts a few months before hand. It was still a nice, homely looking office that welcomed all students and others. _

_Taking the requested items out a space-expanded bag, he waited as Armando examined them in detail._

"_Well Harrison," began the Headmaster. "These are very advanced magical items. I cannot quite figure out what they do but I am sure that there is nothing like them in the current wizarding world. Where did you get them?"_

_Surprised at the question and amazed that Armando has never heard of anything of the like he answers, "Well, at the orphanage some of the older children use to make dream catchers and I was having nightmares nearly every night so I decided to make one for myself and Tom. The mirror was a way to show Tom what I was thinking, it shows anything you want it to, not including details you don't know."_

"_So," concluded Professor Dippet, "You made these yourself?"_

"_Yes sir."_

"_If the dream catcher is based on a muggle concept, then why can I detect magic around it?"_

"_I might have accidentally used some of my own magic on it. Also, I used spun spiders web and hand carved wood instead of the stuff the muggle children used. Then there is the pattern I put in to try make it stronger which kind of resemble the runes older years study. But it worked so I must have done something right."_

"_And you did all this when you were how old Harrison?"_

"_I was five, professor."_

_Armando had no reaction to this news. A five year old who had never heard of magic had made a magical item so block dreams that surpassed all known techniques including the dreamless sleep potion, which had been around for at least a hundred years. Remembering the mirror that was mentioned he wondered about it. _

_Harrison went on "The mirror was really just experimenting with what I could do. I found an old mirror and thought it would be great if I could uses it to show Tom things like dreams."_

_Considering this, the Headmaster repeated his question about how old Harrison was when he made the mirror. "I was eight," was the reply._

After this session and hearing some of Harrisons worries about Professor Dumbledore not liking him very much, the Headmaster organized for Harrison's transfiguration lessons to be replaced with private tutoring from the Headmaster himself.

The students were not told why Harrison had stopped taking transfiguration but as it was the only class besides potions where Tom shared it with the Gryffindors he noticed and worried.

In potions on November the fifteenth Tom saw a few of the Gryffindor girls fawning over Harrison and his intelligence to be able to keep up even though he was two years younger than the rest of the first years, he was even doing better than some. "Harry, you are so smart. No wonder Professor Dippet let you into Hogwarts early."

Tom, hearing this became mad. How dare they go near his Harrison? Harrison was his, no one else was allowed near him. They had no right to be so close; to touch him while Tom was only a few metres away.

That day Tom decided he would meet with Harrison. He would make sure Harrison knew that Tom was more important than any of those girls who cooed over him as if he was going to defeat all the evils in the world.


	12. Chapter 12

**1938 November 21**

Nearly a week after Tom decided to confront Harrison about the girls he finally managed to get the ten-year-old alone. He had been watching Harrison's habits and noticed that he was only alone while the rest of the first year Gryffindors were in Transfiguration, and when he went on his walk to explore the castle before breakfast.

So, having figured out the best time to catch Harrison alone was before breakfast he set an alarm to get him up extra early so they would have time to talk. When the alarm woke him he quickly readied himself and went to find the young boy he cared so much for.

Harrison was exploring the dungeons yet again when he heard a grating noise that sounded like the walls were moving. Curious about this he headed back in the direction he came from until he saw a wall with no special markings opening up to reveal the Slytherin common room and standing in the door was the very reason that he had begun searching, Tom.

Looking around to check there was no-one following, Tom headed out and up towards Gryffindor tower. Harrison wondering why his friend was up so early followed silently. As Tom reached the part of the castle where the Gryffindor common room entrance was meant to be he started getting frustrated at the lack of life in the area. If Harrison were not there then how would they talk?

Listening to Tom's muttering Harrison figured that whatever had been preventing the older boy from wanting to talk with him had been dealt with and they would become friends again. Having missed Tom so much he showed himself practically tackled the other into a hug.

Startled out of his mutterings Tom grinned, this was the kind of affection that belonged to only him. The girls who fawned over Harrison never got this kind of reaction. He indulged them but he only ever wanted Tom. Harrison was the perfect Slytherin even if he was in Gryffindor. Nothing would separate the two again. At least, when people weren't watching them, that is.

The rest of that week was spent catching up on the last few months and the goings on in each of they houses. Harrison told of his private lessons with Professor Dippet and the other first year Gryffindor boys that were teaching him about stuff like Quidditch, wizard's chess and dueling. Tom told about the inner workings of Slytherin and the results of his research into their history and extra-curricular studying. All this was done in the early hours of the morning, as neither of their houses would be accepting of their friendship.


	13. Chapter 13

**1938 December 25**

The days kept passing until Christmas came around. Everyone had gone home to be with their families during the war going on, some were never coming back. The only students that stayed behind were Tom Riddle and Harrison Thomson. Two boys enjoyed having the castle to themselves. It meant they didn't need to hide their friendship from the fighting Gryffindors and Slytherins.

Most of their time was spent together in the library researching subjects that interested them and families either of them may have come from. The results of their efforts were meager as Tom was only really interested in the dark magics, which were restricted, and Harrison changed topic every day. The family side was also useless since Harrison only had his first name to go by which didn't mean anything and no matter how hard they looked they could find no mention of a Riddle in any of the old year books.

Every few days one of the Professors would pop by to check on them and chat for a bit before leaving.

The first change in their routine was Christmas day, when Tom reached Harrison's part of their shared private dorm at seven he found the younger boy was wide awake and staring at a pile of presents on the end of his bed. Having already opened his single present, from the boy in front of him, he was amused with Harrison's reaction to the gifts. Surely he had received this many for his birthday? Well, maybe not, considering a third of them were from Tom and they had been ignoring each other at that point in time. But he should have gotten a good number from his housemates, right?

Harrison, shaking away his shock at so many presents turned to Tom and asked, "Did you get this many as well?"

Tom shook his head, "No, but I'm nowhere near as popular with the Slytherins as you are with the Gryffindorks."

Eyes widening, Harrison adamantly told that he wasn't at all popular with the Gryffindors. "They fawn over me in class but that's just because their all idiots and are amazed that I understand what is being taught, what with me being two years younger than them. It gets really annoying sometimes."

"If it's that annoying then be rude to them and you'll never have to worry about them again."

Thinking over this Harrison continues, "That is the line of thinking that makes me a better Slytherin than you, even though I'm in a different house. If I brush them off now then they're less likely to want to help me when I need something from them. What if one of them became I high-ranking ministry official? Wouldn't it be better to be on good terms with them rather than have them think poorly of me?"

"Harrison, they are never going to think poorly of you. Compared to them you are a god. Even if one of them managed to obtain an influential position, you would have one even more so."

"You know Tom, that type of mindset is the only problem with Slytherin. '_We're better than you so you can't do anything we can't._' If you're going to keep acting like that then maybe we shouldn't be friends. I told Charles about our friendship. He said it was fine for a while but eventually our differences would come between us, no Gryffindor and Slytherin can live in harmony. The personality traits are just too conflicting. Don't try meet up with me again until you can see the importance of those who are less talented. If you do I won't listen."

With that Harrison left the room and Tom gave up on trying to work it out, when Harrison made hi mind up there was nothing anyone could do to change it, even Tom.


	14. Chapter 14

After that Christmas they barely spoke one word to each other anymore. Tom worked his way up the ranks of Slytherin's hierarchy and discovered that he was a natural snake speaker or as the wizarding world named it Parseltongue. Using this knowledge he managed to finally find a family link with Slytherin's last known descendants and he planned to visit them over the summer holidays at the end of his fourth year.

Harrison gave up on trying to find anything out about his history. He spent his holidays earning money and respect from friendly witches and wizards in Diagon Alley. The few times he ventured into Knockturn Alley he managed to gain a reputation as danger behind the mask of a child. Eventually he made a bank account to store all the money and interesting objects he had managed to accumulate.

While at the bank he set passwords on his accounts and asked that in the case of his death they be held until someone gave the correct password. The goblins were overjoyed with the prospect of withholding so much from the greedy wizards and agreed. One of the goblins, noting his muggle name and lack of family, suggested a blood test to find any unknown relatives. Harrison was intrigued by this but decided against it until a later date, leaving a vial of his blood in the vault as well just in case.

While at school though Harrison was a completely different person. He spent much of his time with - and - playing games and keeping up to date on their homework. But in his spare moments he would sneak away listen in on Tom's conversations with either the other Slytherins or the snake that Harrison had managed to anonymously give him. It was listening to these conversations that helped him to teach himself Parseltongue. Tom, while loving the snake never, noticed his brother's involvement in anything and pretended as if the Gryffindor did not even exist.

During the summer holidays directly after fourth year Tom disappeared for a short time and returned with a look of immense satisfaction on his face. Harrison worried about the cause of that expression but let it slide as he intercepted a letter from the Headmaster. The letter was addressed to the Dark Lord Grindlewald and was incredibly worrying for the young boy.

_Dear my old friend, _

_I know that we have not been in contact much since my sister's tragic event but I have some news that I must share with you. There is a young child studying at Hogwarts who I believe may usurp your position as Dark Lord and become even more impossible to defeat. I have figured that if we could remove his motivation then you would remain the Dark Lord and the Light would continue to have a slight chance. I believe that he is motivated in his goals by a boy named Tom Riddle. I myself cannot dispose of him but think that it would perfectly likely that you could. The death could even be explained away as a demonstration of you power._

_I hope that you will take my request into consideration and make the choice most useful to us both._

_Regards, Albus._


	15. Chapter 15

**1942 October 31**

From that day on Harrison watched Dumbledore carefully. He managed to give Tom's snake Nagini a note to give Tom if he died. Harrison had decided after reading the letter that he couldn't let Tom die and he would die in his place if it would keep his best friend safe.

It wasn't until his birthday that he had a chance to talk with Tom about what he had read. Tom had decided that his thirteenth birthday was a special occasion that couldn't be missed like all the rest. It also seemed like there was something important Tom wanted to share with Harrison. Because of this Harrison couldn't bring himself to tell Tom about Dumbledore's request to Grindlewald.

Sadly that night during the Halloween feast in the great hall an owl appeared. The owl had a package that it dropped straight in middle of the hall. As the package floated to the ground it broke open. Out of the package came to assassin's knives. Having guessed what was happening the moment the owl was visible, Harrison was halfway across the hall and directly between the knives and Tom. So when they turned to kill their target they found Harrison's heart instead. Believing that this was the body they were meant to kill they became inactive once more, but the damage was done and Harrison was for all intents and purposes dead.

Since many of the students in Hogwarts and many patrons of Diagon Alley and other such places loved Harrison there was a large funeral service held for him. The only person who did not attend was Tom Riddle. He gave his reasoning to only one person and that person would never be able to tell another seeing as there was nobody else who spoke snake.

The knives used to kill Harrison mysteriously disappeared but his wand was buried with him as wizarding tradition stated.

Nagini took her time in giving Tom Harrison's final letter and made sure that Tom was finished grieving before she did so. This stopped him from killing Dumbledore out of anger and assured that he would be able to avenge Harrison in an appropriate manner.

Harrison however knew none of this as his soul floated around the afterlife looking for a new body in which to return.


	16. Chapter 16

**1980 July 31**

"Hadrian. We are calling him Hadrian." The woman's voice was blurry. It was hard to hear her and even harder to tell what she was saying. She sounded unfamiliar but comforting at the same time. "Harry for short." Continued the voice of a man, it also felt like he should trust him even though Harrison had had trusted anyone in his life.

Coming to his senses a bit more Harrison noted that he was being cradled and either these people were giants or he was tiny. Trying to open his eyes he found the room they were all in was incredibly bright. It took a few more hours of listening in to the conversations and accustoming his eyes to the room before he figured it out. He was a newborn baby. They were in St Mungo's, the wizarding hospital and the people who he seemed to trust without any reason were his parents. The woman had lovely red hair and beautiful green eyes that visitors kept commenting on him having. The man however looked a whole lot like Charlus Potter who had been head boy for a year.

His new parents had luckily given him a name quite similar to his old one and so he would have no trouble responding to the nickname some of his classmates had been using for years. He was curious as to the rest of his name but figured he would know eventually and had more important things to worry about like what had happened to Tom. Had Dumbledore continued trying to get him killed or had he given up once Harrison was dead? What did Tom do with his life after graduating and where was he now? There were so many questions that he wanted answered and absolutely no way of getting them answered for at least a few years.

Understanding that there was no way to answer any of his numerous questions Harry settled down to wait out his second childhood before taking up the search for his friend. The family he had been born into were good people, his father may have been a little noisy but no family was perfect and Harrison was determined to enjoy his second childhood as much as he could.


	17. Chapter 17

**1981 July 31**

Harry was a year old today. He had been living as a baby for a whole freaking long year. He tried to get his motor control working quickly but he also didn't want his new parents to get suspicious. A baby who knew how to speak Latin would probably be reason for concern to them.

Over the year Harry had managed to glean random bits of information. The year was now 1981, thirty-nine years since his death. His parents were Lily and James Potter and he was a half-blood as his mother had muggle parents. The men who came round often were called Sirius Black, Remus Lupin and Peter Pettigrew. They had become friends in Hogwarts when they were all in Gryffindor, though how a Black got into Gryffindor still evaded Harry's perception.

He had also learnt that there was a war going on. Supposedly some man who called himself Lord Voldemort had decided there was too much light magic in the world and gathered supporters of the dark to rectify this. Harry, seeing the base behind the war had to completely disagree with the method this Voldemort was using as it made the dark seem even worse than it actually was and didn't help the cause so much as hinder it.

On the few occasions when his parents would talk about the war around him they had mentioned they were going into hiding because the Dark Lord was going to be searching for them for some reason. But today wasn't the day to contemplate this. It was his birthday and Harry was having a shared party with Neville Longbottom whose birthday was yesterday. There was cake and presents and everything else you would expect at a party for two baby boys. Uncle Sirius, also called Padfoot had given Harry a toy broom that he loved. It only went about a foot off the ground but compared to the rest of the things it was the most advanced and so obviously the best. Harry had already used it to break a vase his mum had hated but pretended to love as it came from her sister she wasn't on good terms with.

The party was about coming to a close when Harry overheard an interesting conversation between the mums. "I no it's for the best." Said Mrs. Longbottom "But I just can't help thinking something will go wrong. What if it doesn't work? I just want Neville to be safe."

"I understand completely," replied Harry's mum, "but as far as we can tell this is the safest option. Voldemort will be coming for one of them and we need to protect them as much as we can." Mrs. Longbottom nodded at this and conversation turned to lighter topics. Neither of them noticed Harry listening in or trying to figure out what they meant.

Harry wondered about this much for the next few weeks until Peter became the secret keeper. Not trusting Peter one bit he cried and whined throughout the whole process but the adults just carried on, assuming it was just their tension affecting him.


	18. Chapter 18

**1981 October 31**

Halloween came round again; it was the closest Harry could get to his past life. Lily and James were doing all the silly things adults do to get babies to laugh. There was candy for him and James was making all sorts of things like bubbles come out of his wand. Out side they could see children trick-or-treating around the neighborhood although none of the children could see them thanks to their protection.

Laughing at all of James' silly actions Harry wondered what happened to Tom after his death. There seemed to be something important he had wanted to tell Harry all those years ago. But Harry didn't have time to ponder for very long as the wards protecting the house sounded. James ran to the window and shouted back to Lily and Harry "It's him! Lily, take Harry and go! I'll hold him off!" Harry noticed James didn't have a wand and looked on helplessly as the door burst open and Voldemort entered.

Lily grabbed Harry and ran up the stairs, a direction Harry knew held no escape. As she ran a red light flashed shortly before a thump was heard as James fell to the ground. A slight chuckle could be heard from Voldemort as he approached. Lily, upon reaching Harry's bedroom set him in the cot and stood protectively in front of him. Seeing that this would almost certainly be the day he died for the second time Harry searched for something he could possibly do.

On the floor in the corner of the room were some toys, scrabble and some other bits, nothing that could be useful. Not finding anything Harry resigned himself to death for the second time, maybe this time it would work properly. The Dark Lord came into the room with red eyes that made Harry think of the horrors between his first death and his second birth.

"Not Harry, not Harry, please not Harry!" Begged Lily.

"Stand aside, you silly girl… stand aside, now…"

Watching the interaction between his new mother and Voldemort, Harry came to the decision that he must do something for the woman who had cared for him in this life. Taking a second look around the room his baby eyes fell on the toys in the corner. Mustering up as much of his magical energy as he could he sent them flying, the toys split in two with the scrabble pieces heading towards his new mother and the rest attacking the Dark Lord.

Neither his mother nor Voldemort noticed the projectiles until impact. Completely surprised they looked around for the source. Finding none in the room with them they forgot what they were doing and stood there looking confused. Harry, however, did not forget and with a happy gurgle sent the scrabble pieces flying again, this time straight into the face of the Dark Lord.

That action lead to both his mother and Voldemort realizing whom it had been that moved the toys. The reactions of the two were quite different yet the same. Lily was left staring the child she had given birth to that showed such magical potential and worrying what the Dark Lord would do with this realization. Voldemort himself was in shock at the maturity the young boy showed. He had never seen anything like this before.

Ever the cunning Dark Lord he asked "Do you understand what we are saying Harry?"

Being unable to reply properly Harry merely gurgled happily and nodded. This intrigued the Dark Lord enough to keep trying to communicate. "And is there anyway you can think of that you might be able to answer some questions that require something other than a yes or no?"

Harry stared into space and then looked around the room yet again. He didn't see any paper or quills but the scattered scrabble pieces caught his eye. He looked at them and levitated them closer so that he could see the letters. With a great amount of concentration he arranged them to say 'IS THIS A GOOD WAY TO ANSWER'

At that moment Lily fainted, the shock of her 15 month old son being able to control his magic and communicate via scrabble became too much and she fell to the ground.

"Aw," cooed the Dark Lord uncharacteristically "you made your mother faint. How about you tell me why you are so smart for a baby? I'm sure it is a very interesting story."

Taking a moment to organize his reply Harry made the words 'REINCARNATION IS REAL AND FAULTY'.

This shocked Voldemort into silence for a minute or so before he regained his composure.

"Well then, how much do you value your new parents lives?"

'DEPENDS ON WHAT YOU WANT ME TO DO'

"Of course it does," Voldemort chuckled "You truly are a little Slytherin. But to answer your question, I would want to do become one of my followers and do jobs for me that can only be done by a child. People suspect children much less than adults."

'FOR YOUR INFORMATION I WAS A GRYFFINDOR' formed for a few seconds before changing to 'BUT THIS TIME I WILL BE SLYTHERIN' for another couple of seconds then reforming to say 'I WONT AGREE NO MATTER WHAT YOU OFFER ME OR THREATEN'.

"Ah," sighed the Dark Lord "then we may have a slight problem. You see if I can't have you working for me then you will have to die."

Harry stared for a few moments. ' THEN GO ON AND KILL ME' Looking down he resigned himself to the knowledge that he would die a second time and it was likely that he wouldn't have another chance at life.


	19. Chapter 19

**1987 May 24**

A sudden scream was heard. It resounded throughout the neighborhood. The few visitors and new residents looked up and around to try finding the cause but the locals just ignored it as if they heard it everyday. Which of course they nearly did, for there were many screams whenever the godfather of the boy down the road on the edge of the small town came to visit and he visited often.

There was once a rumor that the child was possessed by a devil and that was why his godfather screamed but those were put to rest when the quiet boy started at the local primary. He was the picture of a perfect child. His work was neat and tidy and he himself was quiet and well mannered. After this discovery the townspeople just accepted that it was the godfather who was mad, but if he was what made the young boy happy then none of them could tell him not to visit.

This particular day wasn't different to any of the rest. Sirius Black had come to town to visit his best friend, James and godson, Harry. On his way in he had once again forgotten how much Harry took after James. For when Sirius and James had been at school they had been major pranksters and Harry had fully inherited the trait. Even at only six years old Harry loved sneaking up on his godfather and give him purple hair or pink skin, once he had even transfigured Sirius a tail. It had taken James, Lily and Harry's other godfather, Remus, two weeks to reverse that prank.

Of course his parents thought all of the magic he did was accidental. Neither of them knew he was doing it on purpose. Ever since Harry vanquished Voldemort he had pretended to be perfectly normal if a little bit better than the average child. For a few weeks after the incident Lily had been a tad wary but she quickly believed the act again when Harry showed no signs of abnormality.

Today Harry was feeling in a very silly mood and decided upon making Sirius flash random colours at the most inappropriate moments. Sirius didn't even notice the first few times and both James and Lily dismissed it as their minds playing tricks on them. When he finally realized what was happening he spent a couple of minutes looking confused before figuring out who was responsible.

Harry spent the rest of the afternoon dodging pranks from his godfather and father as they tried in vain to get revenge on the six year old. Sometime later Remus came over and gave Harry protection while talking to Lily about all the latest news. There were very few interesting things happening and the most interesting one was Draco Malfoy's birthday coming up in June. Apparently Harry had been invited to the party and though his parents weren't on very good terms with the Malfoy's when Harry had heard about the invite he had become so excited that they couldn't say no.

Harry's reasoning for being so excited was quite simple. Tom had been friends with Abraxas Malfoy and if he could get near his portrait maybe he could get some more information on where to find Tom. So even though he thought the Malfoy's were far too stuck up, he found himself getting excited at the idea of visiting them. He could only hope he would get a chance to talk with Abraxas' portrait alone.


	20. Chapter 20

**1987 June 5**

Draco Malfoy's birthday had finally come around and Harry was all ready to go. James and Lily were still slightly against the idea but they couldn't imagine doing anything that might make their son sad so they went along with it for him. In the hallway just before they left Lily asked Harry "Are you sure you want to do this honey? You know ours families haven't been good friends for years." Harry just nodded resolutely and held out his hand so Lily could side-along apparate him there.

Malfoy manor was a grand place indeed, as it was the first time Harry had seen it in this life he acted in total awe of the place when in reality he was just glad for something familiar. They were greeted at the gate by a house-elf and led to one of the many ballrooms. It just so happened that they passed Abraxas Malfoy's portrait on the way there. Understanding that it would be strange for him to stop to talk to a portrait he had never met Harry kept following the elf through to the dining room.

Nothing much had changed in the manor and Harry found himself more comfortable here than he had ever been in this life. Harry kept up the act of awe until after half the guests had arrived before dropping it and going with a more respectful pureblooded approach.

While they all waited for Draco to finally come down Harry took the time to try figure out whom present was related to people in his past life. A few of them were obvious like the brutes, Crabbe and Goyle. Others were harder to tell such as the dark skinned boy in the corner.

Once Draco finally made his appearance and greeted all his guests the festivities began. There was plenty of food and drink, among music, dance and other such activities befitting a young pureblood's birthday party. During one part of the afternoon they went out to play Quidditch and have flying races. It was during this time that Harry made his escape to chat with Abraxas.

It was quite easy for him to find the portrait again after seeing it on the way in. It was just a few corridors to the left, one to the right and forwards a bit. Viola.

Harry found himself starring at the fully-grown version of a boy he had watched start Hogwarts, make friends and do all the other things fifteen-year-old boys do. The differences were miniscule and having seen his son, Lucius and his grandson, Draco it was obvious that there was a strong family resemblance and very definite characteristics. For a moment Harry just starred at the portrait of his old classmate until Abraxas noticed his presence. "And just who might you be boy?" Drawled the portrait with an air of importance and control.

"I'm one of the two people in the world you should never annoy." Harry tells him with a smirk clear on his face. "And why would that be boy? You don't seem that special to me. But I am curious who you may think this other person is. Won't you tell me?" He doesn't show it but Harry knows that Abraxas is laughing on the inside.

"Why, Tom Riddle of course, who else? Do you happen to know where he is?" inside Harry is desperately hoping Abraxas does, though he knows it is not likely. The portraits eyes widen for a second before he composes himself once more. "I may know such a thing. But you still have not told me who you are and so I will not be able to tell you." Harry considers this idea for a few minutes, running all the positive and negative possibilities through his head before deciding on an answer.

"My name is Harry Potter but you would probably know me better as 'the pipsqueak gryff Thomson'. It's nice to see you again Rex, even if we weren't quite friends the last time."


	21. Chapter 21

**1987 June 15**

After that short conversation Harry went back to join the other children outside. They were playing a game of tag on brooms and it was easy for Harry to blend back in. Sadly none of the children were very good flyers except Harry and the birthday boy, Draco. So Harry and Draco ended up ditching the game and flying up to play a mini, one-on-one game of Quidditch. They were nearly evenly matched as Draco had got his father to get him tutoring and Harry's dad was practically obsessed with the game. Harry was only slightly better as he had some experience in his past life and was on a broom before he could walk in this one.

When they went inside again Draco returned his attention to the other children like a good host. But it turned out that Harry was staying later than the others, as his parents were a bit too busy to pick him up. But that turned out to be a good thing as he managed to start a better friendship with the Malfoy heir and got an invitation back on the 15th.

The day couldn't come fast enough for Harry. He spent much of his time trying to distract himself so his parents wouldn't wonder what was wrong with him. Draco seemed like a smart boy and Harry hoped to confide his secret in him so it was easier to talk with Abraxas' portrait. Harry went over multiple ways of telling Draco in his head and eventually came to a decision on the best one.

On the fifteenth he used the floo to get to Draco's early in the morning. They played Quidditch for a few hours and then had lunch. Draco gave Harry a proper tour of the mansion before they settled down in the library for a game of wizarding chess and some talking. They talked about everything from Quidditch to the war to what they knew about current events and eventually they got to Hogwarts. "So," asked Draco "which house do want to get into? Gryffindor like your parents?"

Harry pretended to think for a while, "Can I trust you with a secret? I don't just mean what house I mean something way bigger, think you can manage it?" Draco nodded with a guarded look on his face. Harry continued, "I've already been to Hogwarts." Draco eyes widened comically. "How?" he blurted out.

"I can remember my past life. I was a Gryffindor in the same year as your grandfather. Of course this time round I'm definitely going to Slytherin." Harry explained.

Draco just stared "You mean you went to school with my grandfather? Did you know Voldemort? How was it back then? Why wouldn't go to Gryffindor again this time? Did Dumbledore really defeat Grindlewald?" Draco's excitement was hilarious to Harry and he had to take a minute to compose himself before answering.

"Yes, I went to school with Abraxas. I assume it was the same as it is now. I wouldn't go to Gryffindor this time because I don't need to. I died before Grindlewald was defeated so I don't know and why would I have known Voldemort?"

Hearing his explanation and question Draco went into a long rant about how Voldemort supposedly went to school with his grandfather and so he probably met him but didn't know it. Then noting Harry understood he went straight back to firing out more random questions. "Why did you die? Why would anyone _need_ to be in Gryffindor in the first place? How could you be in Gryffindor and then Slytherin when they are total opposites? Did you find all the secret passageways? If you had to guess whom would you say became Voldemort? What was your name?"

Slightly overwhelmed by the questions, Harry kept his composure and answered. "I died saving my friend's life when Grindlewald tried to assonate him. I needed to be in Gryffindor because there was someone who thought I would be the next dark lord and what better way to confuse them than to be in a house so obviously against dark magic. Gryffindor and Slytherin aren't actually total opposites, the main difference is that Slytherins tend to think first and sometimes they don't even do that. I think I found all the passageways but with Hogwarts you never know for sure. I would have no clue about what mini dark lords look like and do really think I would tell _you_ my name?"

Draco looked rightly ashamed after that and their conversation moved onto lighter topics once more. Draco though didn't forget the knowledge he had been trusted with and so whenever Harry would come for a visit and complain about the way things had changed or just lock himself up with Abraxas' portrait Draco knew why.


	22. Chapter 22

**1991 July 24**

"Mum!" shouted Harry, "It's here!"

"What are you talking about sweetie?" Answered Lily without looking up from her magazine of the latest developments in potions.

"My Hogwarts letter! What else?" Laughing slightly Harry begged to visit Draco as they had planned to buy their supplies together when the letters arrived. Of course this was partially a rouse as Harry couldn't care less about going to Hogwarts with Draco and was more excited about trying to use his letter to trick more information out of Abraxas who kept closing up whenever Tom was even mentioned.

Lily gave in to Harry's request quickly after he turned on his puppy eyes and Harry jumped through the floo before she could change her mind. Arriving in the Malfoy entrance hall his feet automatically directed themselves towards the hall where Abraxas' portrait hung. He was full out grinning when he arrived and Abraxas couldn't help but smile back at him. "What has you so happy today Harry?"

"I got my Hogwarts letter." Harry laughed as if it was the funniest thing ever, "I have to go back and learn things I learnt when I was nine, the first time round."

Abraxas chuckled at the boy, "Well at least it gives you an opportunity to search for Tom and make valuable allies. You that's the main reason purebloods go to Hogwarts."

"Yeah, yeah." Harry smiled, "But it's just gonna be so boring, I mean the first time round was bad and I had Tom and Nagini to focus my boredom on then. What am I going to do with all my time? I've already finished learning everything I need to pass my NEWTs and only have to wait until my core stabilizes in my body before practicing, that won't take much time and it will take even less concentration. Ugh."

"Now Harry, 'ugh' is not a dignified way for a powerful pureblood such as yourself to speak. Maybe you could focus on your etiquette, it is rather lacking compared to any other pureblood's. You must learn how to manipulate properly and manipulations will take up a good portion of your time. After all, as the Boy-Who-Lived and a Potter you are expected to be in Gryffindor. It will take much convincing to get the other three houses believing you do not truly want to be in Slytherin. Also I believe your father expects you to take up Quidditch? You may find that it takes up more of your time than you would think."

Harry just nodded and smiled in response before going to announce his presence to Draco so they could get started on buying their school supplies. It took an hour or so to wake the blonde but eventually they were on their way to Diagon Alley. Their first stop was Gringotts and after that Ollivander's. Upon arriving at Ollivander's Harry began to stress, what if none of the wands chose him, how would he explain already owning a working wand?

As it turned out he need not have worried for before the first ten wands he had found one that liked him. The wand maker had muttered something about it being curious because the wand core was the twin to Voldemort's wand core. It made some sense to Harry given the curse scar he had and so he didn't question his luck and they moved on to the rest of the shops.

Draco and Harry got their shopping done incredibly quickly and spent much of the remainder of the day looking through Flourish & Blott's for anything that they may want to take to Hogwarts with them. Returning home with many packages the boys said their goodbyes and separated for what would likely be the last time until September first given their mutual love of reading and the mountains of books they had both purchased.


	23. Chapter 23

**1991 September 1**

Harry wasn't nearly as excited to go Hogwarts as he was the first time but he managed to pull off a convincing act by waking his parents before the dawn and spending the whole morning running frantic in preparation. Of course it wasn't all an act, Harry was slightly nervous to be starting at the beginning of the year and to be in classes with other children his age. He didn't know how to act, last time everyone had just been in awe of his intelligence or obsessed with his age.

Harry's father James spent the morning reassuring his son that everything would be fine and if he was truly desperate then he could befriend the Slytherins who, despite him having a muggle-born mother, would see him as a pureblood and allow him into their groups. James of course didn't know that it was getting friends that Harry was worried about but keeping them from finding out his secret.

The Potters arrived at Kings Cross Station a whole hour early because James wanted his son to experience the confusion about Platform 9 ¾ but wasn't in any way willing to be late. So because of this they were standing between Platforms 9 and 10 in the middle of muggle rush hour. "Don't worry honey." Comforted Lily, "It doesn't matter if you can't find the station, when James first tried to enter the muggle way he was seventeen and needed to ask for help."

Harry looked at his mother wide eyed, "But… Why?" he asked, "It clearly says 'Platform 9 ¾' on the ticket." He held up his ticket to emphasis his point, the letters flashing gold in the lighting.

James chuckled. "That it does but look around son. Can you see a Platform labeled 9 ¾ any where around here?"

Harry, having already looked and knowing the secret from his past life shook his head. "No dad. But there's a pillar over there that the muggles seem to be avoiding and it's about three-quarters of the way from Platform 9 to Platform 10, so I'm guessing it hides the entrance to the Platform the way the brick does between the Leaky Cauldron and Diagon Alley, right?" Lily burst out laughing and James just stood there in shock.

"You told him!" he accused his wife. Lily shook her head. "Not a chance honey. I'm just as amazed as you but it's clear we have a very bright boy here." Smiling at her son she pulls her husband off in the direction of the pillar Harry pointed out and Harry jogs to catch up. The family passes through the pillar smiling and laughing onto the Platform. There are few about at this hour and so they have almost the whole area to themselves but for those who work the train and are preparing.

Harry, seeing the familiar sight that has not changed in all of fifty years, smiled with true joy. His parents though did not see nor notice his strange reaction for they too were smiling at the train which once bore them to the wondrous school of magic.

For the rest of the hour until other families arrived James and Lily told Harry stories from their own time at Hogwarts and gave him reassurances of their love no matter what may happen, though James joked they would have another child to be the Potter if Harry was in Slytherin but he didn't mean a word of it.

Seeing a head of blonde hair Harry left his parents and went to claim a carriage before they were all taken. He managed to get one near the back of the train in an area that seemed to be mostly Slytherin and there he waited. It was not long before Draco found him and took his seat, bringing with him other pureblooded children such as Blaise Zabini, Vincent Crabbe, Gregory Goyle and Theodore Nott. Having not met these boys before Harry hid behind his cloak that he had already changed into and sat close to the corner with Draco protecting his other side, for to have rumors spread about Harry before they had even been sorted would be disastrous indeed.

Thankfully the other boys paid Harry no mind and the ride passed without incident. Arriving at the station the first years had to follow the groundskeeper, Hagrid who lead them to some boats in which they were to cross the lake and get their first sight of Hogwarts, or least what was meant to be their first sight of Hogwarts. There were to be four to a boat and Harry got seated with a red headed boy wearing hand-me-downs and a bushy-haired girl. Draco joined them and they waited to cross.

"Hello, I'm Hermione." The girl started talking and Harry wished she wouldn't. "I'm so excited to be going to Hogwarts, it was such a shock when I got my letter. What about you?" She looked directly at Harry while asking this and Harry noted that Draco had picked up on her surprise to be magic and was openly sneering at her. "I'm Harry, both my parents went so it wasn't a really a shock for me." Saying this Harry glanced over at Draco and smirked, they both knew he'd been before and had absolutely no reason to get excited.

Hermione then turned to Draco and the red-head, "And what about you two?"

"I…" The red-started before Draco interrupted. "Red-hair, second-hand cloths, freckles. You're a Weasley, my father told me about your family. Breed like rabbits, more children than they can afford and all Gryffindor." He sneered the name as if it had done him some personal insult.

"Oh yeah!" The redhead retaliated "Blonde-hair, stick-up-arse. You're a Malfoy. You'll be going to Slytherin like your Death-Eater daddy then?"

"How dare you insinuate that about my father!" "Draco!" Harry interrupted. "If he wants to believe such lies then he can but it is not proper to lower yourself to his level. I'm sorry Hermione; I believe these two have some sort of family feud. This is Draco Malfoy, he's usually a lot more polite."

By this time the boat had reached a point where they could see Hogwarts and all the first years with Harry as the exception stared. She was beautiful at night with her windows shining lights in the darkness and her tower reaching for the stars.

The first years followed Hagrid up to the doors of the castle where a strict looking witch who introduced herself as Professor McGonagall met them and took them inside. The professor then told them about the four houses and had them wait in the entrance hall for a short while. When she returned they were led into the hall that was just as Harry remembered it, with the roof enchanted to look like the sky and the students at the four long tables. Harry heard Hermione draw breath to talk but quickly shushed her so as not to disturb the others, or though he would not admit it make a bad impression as a know-it-all.

The sorting hat sat on a stool in the front of the hall and one by one sat for their sorting. Hermione was the first person Harry knew personally and surprised Harry slightly by being sorted into Gryffindor, he had pegged her for Ravenclaw but which her personality he knew it made sense. The next person Harry knew was Draco who was put in Slytherin the second the hat touched his head. It was expected and the Weasley boy sneered until the next person was called up.

Soon it was Harry's turn, the whole school went quite except for a few whispers, 'That's the Boy-Who-Lived', 'He'll be in Gryffindor for sure' and other things like those. Inside Harry was laughing; he was going to be in Slytherin, no one was expecting that. Well, no one other than Draco who he had told. As the hat was placed on his head he had a feeling of Déjà vue.

_Well, Harrison Thomson. You truly are and interesting case aren't you?_

_**Yeah, I know. Now are you going to put me in Slytherin or not?**_

_That I will as you definitely learnt some cunning last time you were at Hogwarts, didn't you?_

_**Well, when your best friend is known as the leader of the snakes you pick up a few things. **_

_Yes, and pretending this is your first life you can remember must make you intimately acquainted with secrets._

_**Yes, yes. Now can you please hurry up and sort me? The students, not to mention teachers, are going to start wondering why this is taking so long.**_

_All right, but once I sort you they will just assume you were trying to get into Gryffindor instead. Now according to your wishes and the truth I will sort you into SLYTHERIN!_

Harry took the hat off passed it to the professor and went to sit down with his new housemates. The hall was silent but for McGonagall calling the name of the next student as if nothing had happened. The next student was sorted and then there was chaos. The Boy-Who-Lived could not be in Slytherin, the snakes would kill him in his sleep, and surely he must be an exception and be resorted.

"QUIET!" Shouted Professor McGonagall in her strictest voice, the noise died immediately. "If Mr. Potter has a problem with his house then he, nobody else, may request a resorting. No one may ask for him. This is not an exception as many students over the years have done this." Turning to Harry she then asked, "Do you have a problem with being in Slytherin?"

"No, professor." He answered without hesitation. "I was actually kind of hoping for Slytherin. The colour scheme is truly amazing, green's my favourite colour." He smiled completely convincing every one of his lie and making all of them believe he was totally innocent and slightly naïve.

The rest of the sorting went without any problems. Weasley got Gryffindor with his brothers and the last person Blaise who Harry shared a compartment with on the train went to Slytherin. Dumbledore, who was now headmaster, proved he was made and they ate. After everyone was finished eating they were reminded of the rules, introduced to the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, Professor Quirrel and sent to bed.


	24. Chapter 24

**1991 September 2**

Harry woke up the next morning and nearly groaned. Seven years of hell had just begun. No more would h be able to spend his days at the wizarding archives or loitering around Diagon Alley hoping for a glance of his old friend. The only good thing about seven years stuck in this dump was the connections he could make.

Getting out of bed he saw he was the first up and went to explore and see how the castle had changed. Harry noted that the password for Slytherin was still the same as when he would sneak along behind Tom and his friends. It seemed Slytherin's were good enough at keeping secrets that they didn't need to change the password.

From his short tour he managed to glean that it was mostly all the same and he went down to breakfast. The great hall was empty this early in the morning but for the four head of houses. The teachers seemed unaware of Harry as he sat down and began eating the food that appeared on the table. Halfway through his breakfast the head of Ravenclaw, Professor Flitwick, who taught charms, gave out a small squeak. The other teachers were confused as to his reasons until they to saw Harry sitting silently at the Slytherin table.

Severus Snape, or Professor Snape as Harry was meant to call him was the head of Slytherin and came down to ask why Harry was so early to breakfast. Harry meekly replied in the most innocent voice he could "I woke up before my dorm mates, sir. Once I had explored a bit I came here, is that a problem, Professor?"

The surly professor saw through his act but the others sitting at the head table believed it entirely. "Well, if that is then case then you might as well have your timetable now then." The professor handed over a small sheet of paper with Harry's class list on it. His first class was double potions with the Gryffindors then he had lunch and then Herbology and Defense Against the Dark Arts, both with Ravenclaw. It seemed it would be a good day so long as the Gryffindors weren't too horrible during potions.

Harry sat at his table awhile longer, watching other students slowly trickle in and reading his potions book to be prepared for the lesson. He was unaware that the potions professor saw this and made note of it. Finally Draco and the other boys from his dorm arrived. "Harry!" Draco cried out in a way only a Slytherin can, drawing Harry's attention but not that of those around him. "Where have you been? None of us have seen you since we woke up. I was beginning to get worried."

Harry grinned at his friend and ally. "You know me Draco, couldn't resist a little bit of exploration. But it did me good, I already have my timetable." This had all the heads of Slytherin turning to him. Snape never gave out timetables until everyone was present, maybe being the Boy-Who-Lived truly did make him special. "Sadly, it also means I am aware of the horror we have for potions." This comment turned the eyes of everyone in the hall on him; Snape hated people disrespecting him or his subject. "Harry," Draco said tentatively "it probably isn't a good idea to badmouth potions or Professor Snape, he is our head of house."

Harry looked entirely shocked, "What are you talking about Draco? I would never badmouth potions! It was one of my mother's favourite subjects when she was at Hogwarts and Professor Snape's great I mean he already gave me my timetable didn't he, what reason would I have to badmouth him?" By this time there were no other conversations going on in the hall, everyone was listening in to their conversation. "Well, then what did you mean Harry?" Draco asked.

"We have double potions first." Harry said. "So? What's so bad about that?" "It's with the Gryffindors. So that means every time we have potions for the rest of this year we are going to be in the same room as Weasley! He was horrible to you yesterday, I don't want to be in the same class with him that much, I like potions!" This comment had the whole hall bursting out laughing, Harry was so innocent. "Um, Draco, what is everyone laughing about?" Harry whispered to friend, finishing off his act to hide his slip.

Draco just shook his head. "You are really good this Harry, really good."

The rest of breakfast went by without much disturbance other than the whole of Slytherin and Gryffindor groaning when they saw they all had potions with their rival house. At one point a pair of redhead twins in Gryffindor robes came up to Harry, Draco tried to shoo them away but they were very persistent. "Hello," "Harry" They said in turn, "We heard-" "-you aren't looking-" "-forward to sharing-" "-a class with our-" "-brother, Ronald." Harry smiled at their way of swapping between the two of them while speaking. "That would be correct," Harry answered them "He was quite horrible to Draco on the boat yesterday."

"Well, we would like to offer our condolences for that and introduce ourselves. This is Fred and this is George. We will also be very willing to prank our brother it if would please you." They said alternating between them every few words.

"Um, why to please me exactly? Not that I have a problem with it at all, I was planning on trying one of Padfoot's tricks on him first opportunity." Harry adopted a confused expression though inside he was calculating the use of having Gryffindors as good 'friends' and debating what they might mean.

"Why of course," The twins answered, "You were powerful enough to defeat the Dark Lord when you were just a baby. So it stands to reason that you will be using your time at Hogwarts to gain followers the way he did. And just so we are sure, how do you know the name Padfoot?"

"Padfoot is my uncle, his real name is Sirius Black but he and his friends made up nicknames. My dad is Prongs, my other uncle Remus is Mooney and there was a Wormtail but he was the one who betrayed my parents to Voldemort so we mostly pretend he doesn't exist. And on the other topic, I'm not confirming or denying but can we keep that quiet for now, please?" Throughout Harry's answer the twins' eyes got wider and so did their grins, by the time he was finished they almost looked like maniacs. They nodded without speaking and disappeared to do who knows what to who knows whom, though most likely their brother Ronald.

Harry and Draco then exchanged glances and headed off to potions. The dungeons were cold as the boys knew and had dressed warm but some of the Gryffindors they passed had no idea and were shivering. It also seemed that Harry was the only one who the way and so all those they came across began following him. Getting down to the dungeons they found they were all ten minutes early and the only people missing were Weasley and one of the other Gryffindor boys, Finnegan.

When Professor Snape came out to check on the progress of his class he found them all lined up neatly and a few of them even had their books out so they could study. Impressed he let them in early then closed the door so that the latecomers would not disturb them until he was ready. "You are here to learn potion-making, though I doubt many of you will have the necessary patience or skill required for such a precise art. To start off I want to gauge your understanding of the subject from your own study. Potter, what is the effect of the Polyjuice potion?"

"The Polyjuice potion transforms the drinker into whatever persons essence they added to the potion before drinking. The effects last an hour. The potion cannot recreate items or clothing however." Snape looked impressed with this. "And where did you read this?" He asked. "I didn't sir. My father decided it would be a good idea for me to learn what he calls the interesting bits about magic before starting Hogwarts and Polyjuice potion is apparently one of the most interesting potions there is."

"I see. Granger, where would you find a bezoar and what would you use it for?" The professor moved straight on to the next person.

"A bezoar is taken from the stomach of a goat. Its properties are such that it will save one from most deadly potions, exceptions being basilisk venom and other poisons taken directly from such a creature." Hermione practically quoted a book Harry had read in 1939.

"Well done Miss Granger but next time you will transfer it into your own words. Quoting books does not show understanding of the subject matter." It was at this time that the class heard a thump and a sigh of relief from outside.

"Looks like we're the first ones here, and you thought WE were late." Commented Weasley from outside.

"I still think we should have been here earlier Ron. We don't want to miss out on anything and I definitely don't want detention on the first day of classes." The other boy was heard. The class looked at Snape to see what he would do and he put his fingers to his lips to keep the silence until Weasley was heard again. "Listen Seamus, it don't matter now does it? We here, nobody else is and so there really would be no point in us coming earlier than this." At this moment he must have leaned on the door as it burst open and he tumbled through Finnegan following sheepishly.

"Sorry we're late sir. I had a bit of trouble finding my books and we got lost on the way down here." Finnegan apologized. "You are excused Mr. Finnegan. Please take the empty seat beside Miss Granger. Mr. Weasley, what do have to say about this?"

Weasley mumbled something unintelligible. "If that is the case Mr. Weasley then detention, tonight at seven o'clock. Do not be late again. Finnegan what would I get if I added powdered root of asphodel to an infusion of wormwood?"

"I'm not sure sir but asphodel is used is sleeping draughts so maybe something to put someone to sleep?" Finnegan seemed very nervous and absolutely terrified of Snape.

"Good guess. They do in fact create the Draught of Living Death. Now your instructions for the rest of today's lesson are on the board. I expect you all to hand in one potion of your choice by the end of the lesson and I do not want any explosions, am I understood?" There was a collective murmured yes and everyone got to work.

The rest of the lesson went by smoothly with only a few bangs and splutters from the Gryffindors side of the class and only a single pop from the Slytherin side. At the end everyone was glad to leave but right before being dismissed Snape set them an essay on what might improve the potion they had just handed in or if as he had noticed Harry doing they had done so why it made it better.

Nothing special happened throughout lunch and Herbology. Everyone got to their Herbology early by following Harry and studied while they waited for it to begin. Professor Sprout was head of Hufflepuff House and like all teachers very passionate about her subject. She showed them round the various greenhouses pointing out plants they would be working with this year and others they might work with in years to come if they continued Herbology.

Defense Against the Dark Arts was the last class of the day and everyone was slightly fidgety. The teacher, Professor Quirrell stuttered heaps, though Harry noted that sometimes there was no trace of the stutter, which led him to believe it was an act, much like Harry's own. Wary of a teacher who was pretending to be weak he decided against asking and planned to have the rest of the Slytherin's keep an eye on him, they would be very willing once he pointed out that the stutter was fake.

After that lesson they all went to dinner before returning to their common rooms to get started on the homework they had already been assigned. At dinner Weasley's hair started flashing various shades of green, mortifying the boy who loathed Slytherin with all his being. Harry and Draco caught winks from the twins and had a great laugh about it once safe in their dorm.


	25. Chapter 25

**1991 September 3**

The next day the first year Slytherins had Transfiguration with the Gryffindors, Defense with Ravenclaw, Lunch and finally double Charms with Hufflepuff. Most of the Gryffindors had learnt from yesterday and left breakfast when Harry did, following him all the way to the Transfiguration classroom and once again arriving early. This time it was Weasley and Longbottom who were missing though everyone knew Longbottom would have gone with the rest if Weasley hadn't dragged him back to the dorm.

When Professor McGonagall arrived she seemed slightly shocked at her whole class being earlier than her but quickly composed herself enough to note who was missing and ushered the class inside before setting up her own shocker for the latecomers. Weasley and Longbottom arrived to find the whole class sitting silently without any visible supervisor other than a cat on the desk. "Ha!" Weasley cried. "I told you there was no point in leaving with everyone else, they've probably been sitting here for ages."

Harry saw that the other boy was too afraid to stand up for himself, a surprising thing for a Gryffindor and stood up. "Listen Weasley, it's not Longbottom or Finnegan's fault you've been late for the two lessons we've shared." The whole class including the cat stared at him. "It's your own stupid fault, you keep telling yourself you're going to be fine and forcing our beliefs on others. If Longbottom hadn't done what you told him to and had instead left with the rest of us he would've been on time and I bet you held Finnegan at breakfast longer than necessary yesterday as well, he probably tried to leave before even I left because he knew he didn't have his book, right?" Looking to Finnegan the boy nodded. "So do the rest of us a favour Weasley and stop dragging others down with you."

Throughout his rant both the cat and Weasley had been quiet but as Weasley took out his wand to hex Harry the cat leapt from the desk and morphed into the professor. "Mr. Weasley, detention and twenty points from Gryffindor for tardiness. Mr. Potter, you will do me an essay on the basic function of transfiguration before your next class with me and I am taking twenty points from Slytherin for speaking out of turn. Do you both understand?" The boys mumbled affirmation and went to their seats. "Also Mr. Potter, " continued the strict professor "fifty points for defending a fellow student."

The rest of the lesson was spent taking some notes from the board and practicing turning a matchstick into a needle. Harry instructed his fellow Slytherin's on the proper technique until one of them challenged his ability to do it at all. He quickly performed the spell creating a perfect needle only seconds after Hermione who had been watching him from the other side of the class achieved the same result. McGonagall awarded them both ten points and sent them out early with an extra assignment to so the other students might learn something on their own. Until the end of the lesson Harry and Hermione sat outside waiting for their friends.

"You know I never did thank you being so friendly to me in the boat," Hermione started to say "or for warning me not to open my big mouth. I think it has really helped. Most of the time back home nobody is my friend because of my know-it-all attitude. Your warning has really helped me make more friends here. You're also a really good teacher, it seemed like you didn't even look at the board yet you managed to explain the spell wonderfully and do it perfectly first try."

"So did you." Harry said modestly.

"No Harry, I was practicing all last night. I never got it until I had listened to your explanation. It's like you've done all this before."

"Hermione, " Harry started off nervously "Can you keep a secret? A really big important secret?" The Gryffindor nodded, curious. "It isn't the first time I've done all this. And by all this I mean everything, this is my second life. Reincarnation." A tumbling was heard from a corridor a little way from them. Harry looked in its direction suspiciously then dropped down to a whisper. "I've lived through the whole of Hogwarts before."

Hermione gasped, "So that's how you know your way around so easily. What was it like? Do you miss your old friends? Are some of them still alive? How did you do on your OWLs and NEWTs?" Harry laughed.

"Calm down 'Mione. That is the reason I know my way around. It was mostly exactly the same as now just with different teachers. I do miss my friends and I don't yet know if they are alive, I'm going to try find them during my time here. And don't you think that's an incredibly personal question considering I'm redoing them in a few years?"

"I'm so sorry, I didn't mean-" Hermione tried to apologize.

"Don't worry about it. Really it's fine just as along as you don't try to weasel it out of me." Harry reassured her.

"I promise I won't." The class finished and their friends got out. Hermione went off to her next class surrounded by the Gryffindors who were all hounding her for help with the spell and their homework and the Slytherins followed Harry to the Defense classroom. Draco was looking at him with suspicion until they reached the class though no one else seemed to notice.

Once inside and at their seats Draco started the inquisition. "So what did you talk with Granger about? How did she do the spell so well? Are we going to have to start hanging out with her now? Because I can tell you my father won't be impressed."

Harry chuckled at him. "There's no way we're going to start hanging around with her, but I did tell her what I told you so she will be useful helping me find my friend." The look of shock on Draco's face caused Harry to rethink his words. "Okay, maybe I didn't tell her everything I told you, she doesn't know the details, only the basics. She seems to really love research and that is good quality, also she is probably going to be right beneath us in marks throughout Hogwarts so she will be a very good person to have as an ally."

It was then that the Ravenclaws arrived from their last class and the moment they were all through the door it slammed shut. The students hurried to take their seats and get their books ready, not wanting to miss any part of the lesson.  
"T-today," stuttered out their professor "W-we w-will be l-learning a-about h-how to c-cast the d-d-disarming sp-spell.  
T-the incantation is ex-expelliarmus. M-mr. P-potter, if you would p-please come up t-to the f-front. H-hold your  
w-wand out p-please." Harry walked to the front and held his wand out. "_Expelliarmus!_" Harry's wand went flying out of his hand and Quirrell caught it. "T-that is t-the r-reaction y-you are aiming for." Throwing Harry's wand back he told Harry to attempt it on him. Harry did it on his first try, earning ten points and causing the whole class to cheer.

The class then split into pairs to try the spell and by the end almost everyone had achieved the ideal result.


	26. Chapter 26

**1991 September 8**

Classes continued and soon all the teachers were praising Harry's outstanding skill, claiming his mother must have taught him well. Flying lessons had been scheduled for the day before but it had been too wet and windy so the day was moved. Draco and many others were incredibly excited at the prospect even though they had already learnt on their own brooms at home.

There was still an hour until the Gryffindor and Slytherin lesson, and there were a great number of first years telling stories of their flying escapades. Harry was very tempted to just shout out his father and godfathers had taken him to meet one of the big teams, he had even overheard the manager ask his father to join. But knowing what would happen if he did and not wanting to be like the rest he kept quiet and went to the lesson with everyone else, for once not leading the group.

On the Quidditch pitch there were some old school brooms in lines on the ground. The teacher, Madam Hooch had everyone stand to the side of one, put their wand hand out over it and say 'up'. Harry's broom was one of the few that rose on his first try. Draco's did it the second time and Weasley's was one of the last to rise.

The teacher then had everyone mount the broom and gave the students instructions on how to fly. She wanted them to count down then push off, hover for a few seconds. She counted down from three then went to blow her whistle but before she could Neville Longbottom lifted off into the air. It was clear to everyone that he had no confidence and soon he came crashing down, hurting himself in the process. Madam Hooch gave instructions that no one was to leave the ground until she returned and then bustled Neville off to the infirmary.

As soon as she was out of sight Draco found the remember-all the boy had dropped and began making cruel jokes about leaving it somewhere for the Gryffindor to find. "Draco," Harry started "just leave it. He doesn't deserve it." This caused the whole class to look at pair in shock. They hadn't disagreed on anything since they met, Draco almost always made all the decisions even though they were both aware Harry was the one with all the power.

This however was one time Draco wasn't willing to let the other boy dictate the situation. "If you care about the idiot so much Harry, why don't you come get it?" Draco taunted before lifting off into the air. Harry immediately followed, despite the protests of Hermione and the Slytherins that weren't still in shock. Harry chased Draco around the pitch though Draco knew the only reason Harry hadn't caught him by now was a hope that Draco would change his mind and the fact that Harry would use any excuse to fly so long as there was a purpose and it wasn't just for enjoyment. For some twisted reason Harry thought flying for enjoyment was something that shouldn't be done.

Noticing how long they had been in the air Draco threw the object away and darted back to ground before Madam Hooch reappeared. Harry saw this and with his quick reflexes followed the path of the ball and went to catch it. As it fell he had to go into a steep dive from which it was almost certain he would not be able to pull out of but at the last second he caught the ball and straightened up to land safely as Madam Hooch blew her whistle at him. "POTTER! Did I not say to stay on the ground while I was gone?" "Yes Madam Hooch, but-" "There are no buts. You have detention with Professor Snape for the next two weeks and you will report to the pitch at seven in the morning on Saturday and Wednesday. Am I understood?" "Yes professor." Harry nodded defeated. Smiling the professor continued. "Good, now I will see the Headmaster about stretching the rules a bit and send a letter to your father, I'm sure he will be incredibly proud."

The lesson continued as it was meant to after that but everyone's minds were on why Harry's father would be proud of detentions. However despite this there were only a few who did not manage to fly well enough to discontinue lessons and both houses went to dinner happy.


	27. Chapter 27

**1991 September 11**

It was not until the next Wednesday that Harry's curiosity regarding that part of his punishment was relieved. Before he managed to get out to the pitch, with Draco in tow to see what was going on, two large barn owls delivered a long package to him. Unwrapping it they discovering it was a broom sent by James with congratulations on his achievement though the letter didn't mention what the achievement was. A side note from Lily told him the same with the additional warning to be careful.

Thoroughly confused the boys headed out to the pitch to find the Slytherin Quidditch team practicing. "Ah, there you are Potter!" Cried out the captain, Marcus Flint. "Now, I see your broom has arrived but just cause the rules bend for you doesn't mean you definitely have a place on the team. We already have a decent seeker, so if you want to be on the team you're going to have to beat him. Start off with a few laps, quick ones." Harry got to the laps right away even though he still wasn't sure what was going on.

Flint pushed the team for a whole hour, making it extra hard on Harry but by the end there was no dispute Harry was the better seeker. Draco was ecstatic about this but the team agreed it would be better to keep Harry a secret until their first game so he couldn't brag to the rest of the Slytherins or other houses. Training was to be twice a week and in all weather, though Harry was glad to make his parents and house proud, knowing how much effort he would have to put in made him groan.

As there was still some time for a quick breakfast before classes. The two boys rushed down and grabbed some toast before getting on their way. They had history and potions before lunch so there would be a chance for Harry to catch up on his sleep, as he already knew everything about history.

It took all of Draco's willpower to keep himself awake during History of Magic as the class was taught by a ghost who just droned on and on about various goblin rebellions. He was one of the few who actually managed to keep their heads off the desks. When the class was over everyone ran as fast as they could, eager to escape the boredom.

The Slytherins all followed Draco and Harry straight down to the dungeons where they were met Hermione and the other Gryffindors, excluding Weasley and whoever he had managed to kidnap that day. Professor Snape again let them in early and began his lesson without waiting. As the last lesson had shown him each of their various skill levels he planned to give a lecture that would hopefully explain and prevent the most common errors. Those who were even further behind would just have to put up and get tutoring or something, those who were ahead would just have to deal.

Weasley turned up ten minutes late again and had managed to drag a boy called Dean Thomas down with him. Dean was quick to apologize and start copying down Granger's notes to catch up but Weasley attempted to make excuses for himself and blame it all on Dean. This act earned him a detention cleaning cauldrons, minus twenty and an extra twelve-inch essay.


End file.
